


Keeping Up with Traditons

by everlovingdeer



Series: Harry Potter Short Stories [24]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, POV Muggle Character, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 19:16:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20533199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everlovingdeer/pseuds/everlovingdeer
Summary: “Evans.” He smiled warmly, tucking his hands into his pockets. “How have you been – I didn’t see you last year.”“I couldn’t come and pick Lily up – my matches kept getting scheduled on the day that we needed to pick her up.” I tucked some of my hair behind my ear, “But I’ve been perfectly fine. What about you?”“I’ve been a bit lonely actually. Maybe you should keep me company?”





	1. Keeping Up with Traditions

**Author's Note:**

> This was written 24/11/2013 and has gone through only a little bit of editing since

Everything was so different. Sure, the train station looked just like a regular one except it wasn’t. And I knew it wasn’t. What type of train platform did you need to run through a wall to get to? 

I stared at the solid brick wall in front of me and turned to look at the girl beside me. Lily gripped my arm tightly and we both looked determinedly back at the wall. The two adults behind us let out an indulgent sigh.

“Honestly girls,” they sighed although I could hear the slight doubt in their voice. “It’s simple. Just run at the wall.”

“You go first then,” I said looking over my shoulder.

Dad squared his shoulders and said, “Alright then, I’ll go first.”

Standing in front of the wall, he set out on a dead run. I winced, waiting for him to slam into the wall but he didn’t. Dad passed straight through it and I felt my eyes widen. Well, I’ll be damned. 

“See girls,” Mum said setting a hand on our shoulders. “There’s nothing to worry about. Now hurry up the two of you or we’ll be late.”

Sharing a determined look with Lily we ran at the wall together. I closed my eyes anticipating the impact of the brick wall but it never happened. Opening my eyes, I stared wide-eyed at the platform that I had just stepped into. While Lily and I looked around the platform Mum had followed us through, pushing the luggage trolley with her.

Dad stood a few metres ahead, waiting for us. When we had all gathered together we followed the crowd of people as they made their way towards a red train. The Hogwarts Express. Secretly I had to admit that I was jealous of Lily who would get to go on this big adventure all by herself. 

Growing up, Lily and I had always been together. What else would you expect from a pair of twins? But the discovery of her magic had almost driven us apart. It was not her magic but rather the poisonous words from Petunia that had almost turned me against my sister. But there was nothing that could overcome the bond between a pair of twins.

Now, Lily would get to go off and explore this new world without me. And I would be at home with Petunia until it was time for me to attend my school as well. Mum and dad anticipated how out of place I would feel without Lily by my side, and had allowed me to enrol in a school of my choice. It just happened to be a boarding school which could save me from the horror of Petunia’s company.

The warning whistle of the train blew. Lily had at most ten more minutes with us. She turned to look at the three of us uncertainly and I watched her hug our parents. When our parents had let her go she walked over to me, holding her arms out for a hug.

“Remember to write to me every week,” I muttered into her hair. I squeezed Lily tighter in my arms and she hugged me back just as tight. “It’ll be difficult not having you around me all of the time.”

“I promise.” She pulled back from me and pouted slightly. “I can’t believe that you can’t come with me! You’re my twin. Surely if I’m a witch then you must be too.”

“I guess it doesn’t work that way,” I said gently, smiling at her indignant expression. “We’re not identical twins Lily – our genes aren’t exactly the same. Maybe you got the gene for magic and I didn’t. It doesn’t change that we’re sisters.”

“But-”

Lily let out a started shriek as she was shoved roughly into me, her sentence cut off mid-way. I let out a gasp, wincing at the impact of Lily hitting my side. Straightening up Lily gave me an apologetic look. Turning her attention back to whatever had hit her, she glared at the two boys that were standing in front of us. Really, they could have had the grace to look even a little bit sorry. But they didn’t.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She demanded.

“I’m sorry,” the one wearing glasses tried to apologise but Lily was having none of it.

“You could have hurt her!” She insisted, motioning towards me with a wave of her hand.

Lily and the boy began to bicker and I watched them, an amused smile on my face. The boy would quickly give up and simultaneously learn that when Lily was determined to do something then it would definitely happen. In this case, she was determined to teach the boy a lesson.

I felt a sharp tug on my hair, snapping my attention away from the two of them. Glancing to my left, I turned to face the smirking boy at my side.

“Hello,” he said simply before looking back to his friend.

I raised an eyebrow and muttered a, “Hi,” before turning back to Lily.

Lily’s argument was cut short when the whistle on the train blew. She sprung away from the boy as if the sound had physically shocked her. Hugging me one more time, she turned to rush for the train. The two boys turned in the same direction as her.

I watched Lily board the train and she waved at me. Smiling, I waved back as Mum and Dad came to stand on either side of me. The train pulled out of the station and Mum linked her arm through mine.

“What do you want to do today, sweetheart?”

* * *

We had been waiting at the platform for ten minutes when the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station. The train came to a halt and the doors opened. The students began to file out of the train steadily and I tried to scan the crowd for a sign of red hair but I couldn’t see anything.

“Can you see her?” I turned to ask Dad as he was able to see above the crowd. 

“She’s just getting off of the train now,” he said before he called out, “Lily!”

Hearing Dad’s voice her head snapped towards him and she made her way towards the three of us. Mum and Dad rushed to hug her first and I waited my turn, knowing that Lily would begin to talk the moment that her arms were around me. She was going to overload me with information.

Lily pulled away from our parents, who were deciding to socialise with the other parents. They left us alone, although they remained nearby so that they could keep an eye on the two of us.

Lily stood before me and said, “I missed you so much!”

Mere seconds later I was swept into a crushing hug and as per my prediction, Lily began to talk about the castle and the wonders of magic. The topic of conversation moved on quickly as she began to squeal and jump, speaking quickly about the things that we needed to do this summer. 

I laughed as I pulled away from her, listening as Lily delved into a rant about ‘that Potter boy’. I watched her become agitated, her gestures becoming larger as her rant progressed. She had never failed to mention ‘that Potter boy’ in the letters that she sent to me.

I was so lost in my conversation with Lily that I hadn’t noticed the boy that had approached the two of us. And apparently neither had Lily. I froze, feeling a tug on my hair. Turning to the side, I met the eyes of the same boy that had tugged my hair at the start of the year.

Raising an eyebrow, I waited for him to explain himself. He only smiled mischievously at me, his grin widening when he saw the look of obvious confusion on my face. He turned and ran away, getting lost in the crowd of people on the platform before I could even open my mouth to ask who he was.

“Lily, who was that?” I asked, staring in the direction that he had run off in.

“Sirius Black,” Lily answered and I looked back at her in time to see her nose scrunch in disdain. That was yet another boy that she sometimes wrote to me about. “He’s Potter’s best friend.”

* * *

_SECOND YEAR_

The summer holiday had passed _way_ too quickly. That was something that Lily and I had both agreed on. Another thing we agreed on was that Severus Snape was without a doubt the best boy on the face of the planet. And that wasn’t hard to be. 

Lily and I were going through a phase where all boys were gross; they smelled and were just completely horrid. So for Severus to be such a good friend to the two of us was something close to a miracle. Of course, Dad was happy with our aversion to the male species (because boys _were_ a different species) but Mum would only laugh, wondering how long this phase would last. 

We were standing in front of the Hogwarts Express once again. I looked up at the big red train, trying to block out Mum as she lectured Lily in the exact same manner that she had done last year. Well, in almost the exact same manner.

Last year Mum had obviously been nervous about Lily entering a completely strange world. But now, after having heard the amount of fun that Lily was having, all of Mum’s worries had been alleviated. 

“Stay safe Lily,” Mum said, “And for heaven’s sake, don’t stay inside all day – you need some fresh air in your life.”

“Mum’s right you know,” I added, giving Lily a look as she stared at me.

“As if you can talk!” She protested, “You stay inside almost as much as I do.”

“No, I don’t,” I denied with a shake of my head, “I’m on the hockey team and we tend to practice outside. No matter how cold the weather is.” I grumbled the last part.

“Alright,” Lily relented.

I laughed. “Lils, Mum just wants you to have fun.”

“I know, I know,” she muttered. She pulled me into a hug and then turned to face Dad who was waiting for her.

“No boys Lily,” he began, laughing when Lily made a disgusted face. 

I started when I felt a sharp tug. Not again!

Rolling my eyes I glared at the smirking boy. “Will you stop doing that?”

“Or what?” He asked, cocking his head to the side, his smirk turning arrogant. 

I narrowed my eyes at him as he tucked his hands into his front trouser pockets. “Or I promise to knock that smirk off of your face.”

He laughed at me. He actually laughed. “I don’t think you’d be able to even if you tried princess.”

“Princess?” I repeated dully.

Leaning even closer to me, his eyes danced with amusement as I leaned back. He stilled suddenly as the whistle rang. He pulled back with a sigh. “Until next time.”

Just like that Black had disappeared into the crowd once again. Dad, having caught the exchange, eyed the place where he had been standing dirtily.

“Dad?” I asked seeing his expression. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to have a heart attack when a boy actually manages to pull you out of your boy hating phase.” He sighed wearily. “And something tells me that I know _exactly_ who that boy will be.”

* * *

I hadn’t taken Black’s final words seriously. Of course, I hadn’t. I had simply thought of them as words that were meant to irritate me which they had done. I ignored the entire concept of his even thinking of approaching me as we went to collect Lily once again.

This time I was waiting for her near the doors of the train, in the middle of the crowd. There was no way she would be able to look over the crowd and there was _definitely_ no way that I could peer over the crowd myself.

I saw a flash of red hair going in the opposite direction and shouted, “Lily!”

Hearing her name, she whirled around and ran towards me. Stopping in front of me, she pulled me into a hug. Once she had pulled away from me she began to compliment the change to my hair. The drastic loss of five inches had originally seemed like a lot but it was now easier to deal with. But it still seemed like a bad decision.

“Maybe I should do something similar?” She suggested and I smiled.

“Maybe don’t get as much cut off as I did,” I said, linking my arm through hers as we waded through the crowd. I led Lily towards where our parents were. “I regretted getting so much cut off and honestly, I’m just waiting for it to grow out again.”

“I like it on you.” She complimented.

“Evans!” 

She groaned at the voice and muttered something that sounded like ‘save me’ as we both continued to walk. But against my better judgement, I stopped and Lily stopped beside me. Straightening up, she turned around to face the boy that had called out to her and I did the same. 

“What do you want Potter?” she asked with a heavy sigh.

The Potter boy stopped in front of the two of us. He regarded us closely, looking at our still interlinked arms. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

Looking down at me he asked, “Is this your sister, Evans?”

“Yes, she is,” Lily said impatiently, glaring at the taller boy who was still watching me closely. “What do you want Potter?”

“Nothing from you Evans, not right now anyway.” He said grinning as he finally looked away from me and shouted across the platform. “Sirius, mate! I found her. Would you believe she’s an Evans, as well?”

I stiffened at the sound of _his_ name and clutched tighter at Lily’s arm. Lily looked at me in concern and we shared a look, preparing to leave. We had turned to leave except we weren’t quick enough. Somehow Black had managed to make his way through the crowd and towards the three of us. 

Seeing the way that Lily and I had been planning on heading, he had cut around the two of us and stood in our way. Potter soon joined his friend. The two of them looked down at the two of us.

“Well it looks like we’re destined to become brothers Jamesie,” He muttered to Potter, smirking.

I let out a scoff at his words, not even bothering to give him any more of my attention.

“Merlin, you wish!” Lily scoffed. 

“How is it a wish, Evans?” Potter asked, now joining his friend in his smirking. Seriously, didn’t they have anything better to do? “It’s simple really – we both just need to marry an Evans and we become brothers-in-law, don’t we?”

I rolled my eyes, untangling my arm from Lily’s, “Look don’t the two of you need to go? Someone’s probably waiting for you.”

“Long time no see love,” Black said, stepping away from Potter who approached Lily. I went to try and push past him but he caught my arm. “Now there’s no need for you to be so rude. I haven’t seen you all year – you didn’t come with your parents to pick Evans up during the Christmas holiday.”

“I had a match.” I gave him a weary look. “Let go of my arm.”

“I don’t think that I want to.” 

He used his hold on my arm to pull me closer to him. I glared at him the entire time. Laughing slightly, he leaned down to peck my cheek and I gave an outraged squeak. Whipping around, I moved to hit him but he was already running down the platform and away from me. He turned to look over his shoulder and winked at me.

Cheeky git.

* * *

_FOURTH YEAR_

“Where is she?” I muttered under my breath.

I had already scoured the entire platform _twice_ and the crowd was thinning out. But there was still no sign of Lily. We had all been worried that we had left the house too late and that Lily would end up having to wait for us to arrive. But clearly we had been completely wrong.

My search for Lily gradually became more frantic, the thought of her having missed the chance to board the train running through my mind. I was becoming less focused and my attention was slipping. I recoiled slightly as I collided with something. Looking straight on I noticed that I had collided with a chest. Glancing up I peered into the most gorgeous brown eyes on probably the most handsome face that I had seen in a while. 

I stumbled back from him slightly and put some space between us. “Um, hi.” Smooth.

He seemed shocked by my greeting. “Hello?” He paused for a moment. “You don’t know who I am, do you?”

An amused smirk tugged at his mouth when I shook my head. There was something awfully familiar about that smirk. 

“I’m sorry but I don’t.”

“You’re hair has grown.” He said as though that was meant to clue me into who he was. 

“I still have no idea.”

“Well let me remind you then.” 

He leaned forward towards me making and I watched him closely. Reaching up he tugged at a lock of my hair. I froze.

“Black,” I said recognising him because of the single action.

“Evans.” He smiled warmly, tucking his hands into his pockets. “How have you been – I didn’t see you last year.”

“I couldn’t come and pick Lily up – my matches kept getting scheduled on the day that we needed to pick her up.” I tucked some of my hair behind my ear, “But I’ve been perfectly fine. What about you?”

“I’ve been a bit lonely actually. Maybe you should keep me company?” 

I narrowed my eyes at him and before I could answer there was a call of “Padfoot!”

Black and I turned to watch as Potter approached the two of us. Black smiled at his best friend when he stopped beside him. Both boys turned back to face me and I crossed my arms defensively. 

Potter glanced at me, a smile making its way onto his face once he had recognised me. “And how is my future favourite sister-in-law?”

I rolled my eyes at his delusions. “Looking for my sister actually. Have you seen her Potter?”

“With Snivellus.” He sneered and I narrowed my eyes at him; Lily had already told me all about Potter and his hatred for Severus.

“I think you’ll find that his name is Severus,” I snapped at him.

“You’re friends with the toerag too?” I nodded, “Well then you should know what he called your sister?”

“What?”

“It’s not something you should hear from me,” was all he said and I narrowed my eyes at him.

Turning on my heels I walked away from them both and heard Black call after me. “Where’s my goodbye kiss?”

* * *

_FIVE YEARS LATER_

Right now nothing was going to plan. Everything was running late and there was really no time for this. Lily was panicking upstairs and it was caused by Petunia throwing fits because of all of the ‘freaks’ running around the place. James’ family had arrived early and it was hard to keep them entertained. I had just gotten my makeup done and had yet to do my hair. To top it all off, I had yet to change into my dress.

“Where the hell is the bloody best man,” I muttered under my breath as I rushed down the stairs. 

Strands of hair were flying down from my messy bun as I held all of the groomsmen’s ties in my hand. Someone (James) had forgotten to get the ties last night and it had fallen to me to fix it, as well as many other things. 

Walking into the room I easily found Peter and continued on my search for the best man who seemed to have decided that he wanted to disappear off of the face of the planet. Eventually, I just decided that I needed to find an easier way to track him down.

“Sirius Black!” I shouted making some of the other people in the room jump.

“Yes, love?” He said from somewhere behind me. 

I turned to see him walking into the room. Making his way over to me, he looked at me expectantly.

“Here.” I shoved the tie into his chest and went to leave. He caught my hand and pulled me towards him.

“Sirius I don’t have time for this, whatever this is.” He still refused to let go of my hand and I sighed in exasperation. “What?”

“I don’t know how to tie this.”

“You went to Hogwarts for seven years but still don’t know how to tie a tie? How is that possible? Can’t you just use a spell or something?” I asked, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. “There’s bound to be some sort of charm that can help you.”

“Evans confiscated our wands.” I sighed; why Lily?

“And I don’t suppose that you’ve mastered wandless magic?” He shook his head. “Of course not.”

He looped the tie around his neck and I sighed again. I tugged at his tie and he lowered his head. Flushing slightly I tried my best to focus on the tie rather than the fact that he was watching me intently. When it was complete, I smoothed the creases out of his shirt and stepped back from him. Looking around the room I found the final groomsman. 

“Remus,” I said as I walked over to him, “Here.”

Plucking the tie from my hand, he placed it around his neck. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his wand and muttered an incantation. The tie was perfectly knotted at his neck and I swore that I could feel a headache forming. I looked over my shoulder and shot a glare at Sirius who merely winked at me. Rolling my eyes for him to see, I went to leave the room. Hearing the pad of footsteps follow after me I turned to see Sirius following after me.

“Are you really that mad?” He asked when we reached the stairs.

“No Sirius,” I reassured him. “I’m just really busy right now. I need to go and get my hair done and then get dressed.”

“You’re not going to tie your hair up for the wedding are you?”

“Why? Are you worried that you won’t be able to pull on it?”

* * *

The wedding had been perfect. Everything had run smoothly and there were no outbursts of magic that would need to be explained later to our ‘muggle’ family members. The only thing left now was the reception and from what I could see it was going well. 

James and Lily were sharing their first dance as I sat watching them, sipping on my wine. Lily let out a peal of laughter when James spun her away from him and pulled her back to him. Everyone was happy.

Well, almost everyone. Petunia was sat in the corner with her husband, glaring at the new couple. Peter was sitting beside a girl, talking quietly to her and Remus was in a deep conversation with my parents who had taken to Remus the quickest out of all of the Marauders. And Sirius- 

My eyebrows furrowed as I looked around for him and found him nowhere in sight. Where was the best man? Rising from my chair, I walked around trying to find him. When I did find him my eyebrows furrowed even further. What was he doing outside?

He was sitting on a bench outside, his head resting in his hands. Straightening up I chewed on my bottom lip, walking towards him. At the sound of my heels clicking against the path, he looked up at me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, sitting down beside him on the bench.

“It’s nothing,” he denied as he leaned back against the wooden bench, turning to look at me.

“Come on Sirius,” I said as he turned his eyes to the ground again. “I know you and this is such a you thing to do. When something’s bothering you, you hide away until you know how to fix it. So tell me; what’s the matter?”

“My parents.” He let out a sigh. “They offered me a second chance to do what they want and be a good little boy.”

A silence settled between us and I looked at the boy beside me. I had no idea how to help him when it came to dealing with his parents. I cleared my throat quietly.

“Why did you move in with James whilst you were at school?”

“I’m guessing you know that it was because of my parents?” He turned to look at me and continued speaking once I had nodded. “They had used the cruciatus on me.”

I took in a sharp breath and reached over to hold his hand mine. “The cruciatus? Why?” I muttered in disbelief. Whilst I might not have been a wizard but Lily had made sure that I knew what she thought that I needed to know.

“It was because I was a blood traitor; I was friends with a muggle-born.”

“Muggleborns like Lily?”

“Exactly.” He let out a breath and squeezed my hand in his. Looking down at our hands, he interlinked our fingers and I made no move to pull my hand away. “If they could put me under the cruciatus because I was friends with a muggle-born could you imagine what they’d do if they knew how I felt about you. How I felt about a muggle?”

“How you feel about me?” I repeated quietly.

“You don’t see it do you?” He asked with a bitter laugh. Letting go of my hand he stood up suddenly. Looking up at him like this, he seemed so much taller. “I’m in love with you.”

“You’re not.” I denied quickly when he took a hold of my hand and pulled me up to stand beside him. I teetered slightly at the sudden movement in my heels. Setting my hands on his waist I stabilised myself quickly.

He looked down at my hands on his waist but continued, “Merlin I’m in love with you but you just won’t let yourself see it. Why do you think that I annoy you so much? It’s because I have to have your attention all of the time.”

“Trust me, Sirius,” I said moving to take my hands off from his waist. He set his hands on top of mine to stop me from moving. “I mean why would-”

“Shut up.” 

His hands slid up to hold my arm. Using his hold on me to pull me closer to him and dipped down to kiss me. My eyes slid shut as his hands left my arm to settle onto my waist. I let my hands wind around his neck as he moulded himself against me. Raking my fingers through the hair at the back of his neck I pulled back when I heard the sound of raucous clapping. 

Looking over to where the sound was coming from I flushed red as I noticed the eyes directed towards the two of us. I tried to scramble away from Sirius to put some space between us but his hold tightened, refusing to let me go. Sighing I buried my head into his shoulder in an attempt to hide away from all of the stares. 

But Sirius being the marauder that he was, wasn’t willing to let me hide away from the attention. He decided to pick me up, one hand going behind my knees. Letting out a laugh he spun me around in a circle.

“Sirius!” I squealed, looking up from his shoulder to try and glare at him. 

“Hey, Pads!” James shouted from inside. “It looks like we’ll be brothers after all.”

Sirius only laughed harder at the words and I hit his shoulder gently. He complied and set me onto the floor. The crowd of people turned to look back to the happy couple and I glanced back at Sirius.

“There’s no way I’m letting you tell me that it was a mistake.” He said firmly.

“I wasn’t going to.” I insisted. “Really.”

“Good,” he said slipping an arm around my waist and tugging me back into another kiss. 


	2. Epilogue: 4 Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry was an active child and he was especially active after he’d been given sugar, something that Sirius seemed to do whenever I turned my back. And Harry, now 3 years old, was following in the footsteps of his godfather (and uncle) in becoming a troublemaker. It was already difficult for me to keep up with him; Sirius couldn’t have been more proud. 

_4 YEARS LATER_

Harry was an active child and he was especially active after he’d been given sugar, something that Sirius seemed to do whenever I turned my back. And Harry, now 3 years old, was following in the footsteps of his godfather (and uncle) in becoming a troublemaker. It was already difficult for me to keep up with him; Sirius couldn’t have been more proud. 

I had been sitting downstairs, looking through the syllabus for next year when I heard some running footsteps from upstairs. It was probably Sirius chasing Harry around the house. I looked back at the papers in front of me and let out a heavy sigh – God how did Dumbledore think that the old Muggle Studies syllabus was sufficient for the students to survive in the Muggle world? As the new Muggle Studies professor I certainly had a lot on my hands. 

“Half breed brat!” 

The screech had me on my feet instantly. That voice could only belong to my recently passed mother-in-law, or rather to her portrait. The words were followed by quiet whimpers and I hurried out of the room, taking the stairs two at a time. Turning the corner I found Harry cowering in front of the portrait. Closing the space between us, I pushed Harry behind me and made eye contact with the portrait. 

“And here’s the muggle bitch,” she spat, making Harry wrap his arms around my legs. I reached back to pat his head comfortingly, “To believe that muggle scum carries the honourable surname Black has me turning in my grave.” Ignoring her words, I went to cover her portrait up once again when she spat out, “The next heir to the Black name will be a filthy half-blood – I’d kill it now if I could.”

I froze, a hand coming round to press against the small bump of my stomach. Harry slipped out from behind me and held my other hand, squeezing it twice. Looking down at the little boy, I couldn’t help but smile back at his encouraging grin. I went to cover the portrait again when a voice called out from behind me. 

“Mother,” Sirius called out, walking down the corridor and towards Harry and me. Sirius came to a stop beside the pair of us and covered the portrait before saying another word. Only when he was satisfied that she couldn’t be seen, did he add, “Shut up.”

Turning his back to the portrait, Sirius smiled warmly at me, putting a hand on top of the one I had on my stomach. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine Sirius,” I said gently, eyes flickering to the now covered portrait behind him before meeting his again. “Honestly.”

“Good.” He reached out to tug at my hair before squatting down beside me, lowering himself so that he was level with Harry. “What about you, mini Prongs? Are you alright?”

Harry nodded, smiling at his godfather. “Yes, Uncle Padfoot.”

Sirius grinned affectionately at Harry’s name for him and rose to his feet. I held out my arms to hold Harry when Sirius batted them aside, holding his own out for Harry. The younger boy went willingly into Sirius’ arms and was lifted up. I shot a glare at Sirius.

“Stop looking at me like that.” He rolled his eyes, leaning down to press a quick kiss to my lips. “He’s too heavy for you to carry.”

“I’m pregnant Sirius, not an invalid,” I shot back, leading the boys back down the stairs. 

“I can’t help but be protective.”

“There’s being protective and then there’s not letting me do anything.”

Sirius rolled his eyes good-naturedly and continued to follow me down the stairs, Harry talking quietly in his ear. The two were always keeping each other’s secrets, even from such a young age. I glanced at the clock before gesturing for Sirius to take Harry into the dining room as I headed into the kitchen. In the kitchen I found the house-elves working on Harry’s tea, singing a muggle nursery rhyme as they worked. The moment that I had stepped into the kitchen, a plate was handed to me and I accepted it with a smile. Walking back to the dining room, I found Sirius sitting Harry down in his high chair. 

“Harry sweetheart,” I said approaching the little boy and putting his plate on the table, “It’s time for your tea.” 

Harry picked at his food with his fingers, taking the children’s fork once Sirius had summoned it. We both sat, watching him as he ate and Harry saw the need to talk with his mouth full to both of us. But once he’d actually started to eat, he quietened down and focused on his food. 

I poured him a glass of water when Sirius asked me, “You and Lily talk a lot, don’t you?”

Looking up at him with a raised eyebrow I replied, “Why ask a question you already know the answer to?”

“Do you know if she has any plans on wanting baby Potter number 2 anytime soon?”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise as I handed Harry his glass of water. “Why? Has James said something?” Sirius nodded and I shook my head, “To be honest, I don’t think she’s thinking about it at the moment. James should talk to her about it.”

“You know what Prongs is like,” he said without needing to explain anything else. The doorbell rang and Sirius got to his feet to answer it. 

Once Harry was finished he pushed his plate aside and I cleaned his face with a napkin. Cheerful voices from the corridor caught Harry’s attention and he became antsy in his seat at the sound of them. The voices became closer as Sirius walked into the room, followed closely by James and Lily. James headed straight for Harry, snagging him out of his chair and throwing him in the air to catch him safely in his arms again. Harry laughed loudly. 

“How have you been buddy?” He asked his son and the three men crowded together.

I headed over to Lily and nudged her with my hip. “So, how was the weekend away?”

“Very much needed,” she said with a thankful smile. “Thanks for looking after him – it must have been hard.”

“It’s no harder than looking after Sirius,” I assured her, grinning cheekily when my husband let out an offended shout. 

Once we had escorted the Potters out, Sirius returned to my side and wrapped his arms around me. 

“The house seems so quiet now that he’s gone,” I admitted as we stood in the now empty dining room. Whenever Harry spent the weekend with us, the house seemed so dead when he left. 

“Whenever Harry’s here the house seems lively and happy,” he agreed with a smile, “It was never like that when I was growing up.”

“What?” I asked suspiciously at the sight of his smile.

“Nothing,” he insisted with the shake of his head. “It’s just that pretty soon or house is going to be like that all the time.”

“It is.” I smiled up at him and brushed my fingers against his cheek.


End file.
